


I live to die another day

by Rainripple



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Drama, Fantasy Politics, Friends to Lovers, Kidnapping, M/M, Prophecies, Transformation, a lot of things i can't tag because they are spoilers, a shit ton of magic, mermaid au, update tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 17:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18815926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainripple/pseuds/Rainripple
Summary: Niles is the loyal retainer to Leo, one of four siblings who are guardians of the ocean. Odin, a member of the Ylissean royal family, soon becomes an irreplacable part of their lives but one day a secret threatens to separate the three of them. Will they all get their happy ending together?





	I live to die another day

**Author's Note:**

> An alternative name for this fic is "ocean man take me by the fin" (kudos to my bf XD)
> 
> I first started drawing up ideas for this mermaid AU about a year ago and after much delay I decided to just get on with the story and hope for the best. There are concepts that I wanted to fully plan out to make sure they make sense but if I kept delaying it I'd never start the story. There are probably magic rules or politics that won't make sense but bear with me I'm trying to figure things out. I hope you like what I have in store for you!
> 
> Special thanks to Lin who has listened to every single idea I have ever come up with for this AU.

The world inside Niles’ enclosure was shrouded in darkness. His captors had shackled and shoved him in what was essentially a giant fish bowl with a canvas sheet over it. The restraints only consisted of handcuffs and a chain connecting them to a collar. Despite having suffered a couple of casualties from people who had accidentally pricked themselves on Niles’ fins and perished from the poison, the fins were left to flow freely if only to fully display Niles’ assets to potential buyers. The restraints were no obstacle for him however; a crack easily formed just from one small tug alone. He left them on for now. Keeping up the pretence of being at these humans’ mercy to stoke their egos only made it all the more satisfying when their faces twisted in fear as they met their end.

Yes Niles WAS stuck here since his tail impeded his movement and the large number of people crawling around in this facility would find some way to block his way but he was by no means in danger. His capture was carefully planned as a ploy by Lord Leo and he was likely already sat in the auction hall waiting to begin.

No mermaid worth their salt let themselves get caught by a human without reason. The particular group involved this time were evidently a load of buffoons. They were disorganised, rowdy and just straight up stupid. Niles had literally lain himself right in the middle of the beach and closed his eyes as if he was sleeping and somehow they didn’t suspect anything when he kept ‘sleeping’ even after their clumsy handling. Under normal circumstances they would have never even seen him because he would have detected their presence and disappeared long before they came into eye view.

Niles was just bait to draw in the dregs of human society, the ones who deserved to perish. Neither he nor Leo had much fondness for humans but the latter was at least merciful enough to not kill innocents willy nilly. Niles was fine with whatever his lord did as long as he got to have some fun at the same time. It would not be long before the doors closed on the auctioneers’ lives.

In all due respect, Niles was bored and that was not the kind of expression the ringleader, Gangrel, was expecting when he lifted the cover to inspect Niles before he was due to go up. He was probably expecting him to look afraid but Niles was not so low in pride that he’d make a fool of himself looking like a pathetic damsel in distress.

“What’s with that look?”

Niles’ characteristic smirk slid onto his face.

“You’re going to be some lord’s glorified pet or whore in 20 minutes you really shouldn’t be laughing.”

He just grinned maniacally at him, relishing the step back the human took.

“S-stop laughing! You should be afraid!”

Niles just burst into uncontrollable laughter at that, bubbles rising to the top. Teasing people was fun.

The man was obviously unsettled by his confidence and pushed the glass so it tipped over. The response he got was Niles’ nails scratching down the side to produce a horrible screech. It was uncomfortable for him too but seeing the leader and his two guards jump was worth it.

The leader finally gave up and stormed out, barking, “Fix that bowl up! Make sure the scratches aren’t visible.” The guards saluted as the yellow cape fluttered out of sight.

Niles’ vision was once again obscured as the cover was replaced and his glass adjusted so it was upright again.

About thirty minutes later, he felt movement as he was wheeled into the front onto the stage. The murmurs of the crowd gradually got louder until he stopped and there was no doubt of where he was.

“And now, the prize you’ve all been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, a bona fide mermaid!”

The woman – Niles had hard people refer to her as Aversa - had barely finished speaking before his cover was removed and he squinted to adjust to the light. Immediately, the crowd focused in on him with lust-filled gazes.

Gangrel tried to sneer at him from the wings but he was completely ignored in favour of locating where Leo was. Niles found him in the back row on the seat closest to the door. He winked to signal he spotted him and about three women and two men in that particular corner fainted. Niles was used to this but he rolled his eyes anyway.

The bids came in fast – easily over a million gold – and for good reason. Niles was a stunning man, undisputed by mermaids and humans alike. Dark brown stripes covered his body from head to toe like a watercolour painting in contrast to his stark white hair. Having only one eye wasn’t even a handicap; the blue in one alone was more vivid than the purest sapphire. Like a lionfish, he was beautiful and deadly all wrapped into one package.

Leo was arguably, in Niles’ opinion, even more beautiful when he was in mermaid form but right now he was just in a regular human body. Still handsome but not quite the same without his familiar green and yellow features.

As the woman raised her gavel for the last time, Niles smiled again, ready for the carnage to ensue.

What came instead was a loud bang as the doors were flung open and the loudest human Niles had ever met hollered, “YOUR TIME OF JUDGEMENT HAS COME FIENDS! PREPARE TO FACE THE WRATH OF ODIN DARK’S SWORD HAND!”

The crowd immediately scattered at once when he drew his sword out of its scabbard. He was dressed in (an admittedly well made) pirate outfit despite those clothes being out of fashion for at least a few hundred years. This evidently did not matter to the humans who were far more concerned with saving their own lives. Within minutes, the room was empty save for Odin who in the meantime had dispatched guards and was currently grappling with Aversa for the keys.

Niles glanced towards Leo again, and while he had been somewhat bemused a few minutes ago, he was now looking irritated and ready to go home. He flicked his finger and the glass around Niles shattered to pieces. The water that flowed out poured over the two humans and the keys were washed out of both of their grasps. Odin immediately scrambled off of her to grab them but paused when he heard a gun cock.

“Stop right there boy or the mermaid gets it.”

Gangrel had his revolver aimed right at Niles’ head, looking understandably dishevelled at having his plans thwarted.

“You wouldn’t dare..!”

“I’ll let the mermaid go if you surrender.”

“Lies! I know what you’re like Gangrel, you’ll just-”

“You have 10 seconds.”

Odin was looking conflicted and while the drama was some form of entertainment, Niles was getting a little tired of sitting still.

Leo’s voice cut in loud and clear from his seat. “Niles you can stop pretending now.”

He chuckled, “As you wish milord.”

Odin’s eyes went wide in amazement as Niles shattered the chains restraining him with minimal effort. They widened even more so when an ice lance formed in his left hand and was flung so hard into Gangrel’s chest that he was pinned to the wall behind him. The gun dropped out of his hand and he fell with it as Niles called back his lance. With his heart and his lungs pierced, Gangrel very quickly died and Aversa could obviously tell she was outmatched but her escape was thwarted as Niles’ lance landed right in her path.

“Milord you can have this one if you like.”

Leo made his way down the stairs slowly, almost ominously. The poor woman was positively afraid of his wordless approach. As he grabbed her throat between one of his hands, she whimpered, “W-who are you?”

He covered her mouth and smothered her until she finally stopped moving. Leo’s eyes were cold like the ice of Niles’ lance; he would not be ashamed to admit it was up there on his list of top 5 things he’d seen.

“Oh milord, that was cruel of you, killing her with your bare hands instead of using your magic,” Niles tittered.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Shut up Niles I know you liked-”

“MAGIC!?” Odin was unfazed by their attention focusing on him as he looked at Leo with sparkling puppy eyes. “YOU KNOW MAGIC?”

“And?”

“THAT’S SO COOL!” Odin got down on his knees at Leo’s feet. “Please! Make me your apprentice, I wish to learn the ways of a dark mage.”

Leo looked towards Niles with a “what the FUCK do I do now help me” to which Niles just smirked and shrugged.

Something must have caught his lord’s eye then because suddenly he demanded, “Show me your arm.”

“Huh?”

“Show me.”

The command was not ignored a second time and Odin lifted his torn sleeve to reveal an oddly shaped birthmark on his arm. Leo examined it pensively and then looked him in the eyes. “I was not aware the Ylissean’s had a prince named Odin.”

Odin puffed his chest with pride. “Aye, my parents bequeathed the name Owain at my birth but I have chosen a new name that helps me properly channel my dark energies!”

“Riiiiiiiiiight…” Leo straightened up and cleared his throat. “I am not allowed to kill you but I also can’t let you leave this place.”

Before Odin could spout another word, Leo put him to sleep with a spell and he fell to the ground snoring like a baby. Resting a hand over his forehead, he got to work altering his memories.

“What, are you going to do about the people who have escaped, milord?”

Leo let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll do my best to hunt them down but there are inevitably a few that are going to slip through the cracks. With no evidence hopefully, the remaining ones will be dismissed as crazy if they mention you.”

Niles dipped his head. “I’m sorry, I would help if I could.” Leo’s magical prowess was impressive but even it had limits. His transformation magic only worked on himself or other gods like him. Niles could never take any other form.

“Nonsense Niles. You do more than enough for me.” He raised his hand for Niles to grasp. His eyes were a lot softer now it was just the two of them. Niles felt lucky that he got to be on the receiving end of those ones. “Ready to go home?”

With his first genuine smile of the day, Niles replied, “Of course milord.”

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @LuckyRainripple
> 
> If you want to see a visual of what Niles looks like, have a look at this art i commissioned off him from Hasuyawn https://twitter.com/LuckyRainripple/status/1020827609834442754


End file.
